XIAMEN, Fujian province - It was a beautiful day for a run.

Kenya's Peter Kamais broke the men's course record at the 2012 Xiamen Marathon in perfect running conditions on Saturday. Kamais, who won the men's New York City Half Marathon in 2010, clocked 2 hours, 7 minutes to finish first, bettering the previous record of 2:08:07 set last year by compatriot Robert Kipkorir Kipchumba.

"I did good and I fell very proud about the result today," he said, adding that he also topped his personal best time of 2:09. "It rained yesterday and the temperature got low, but the weather today is in good condition, which helped me to have a better performance, especially in the first half of the race," he said.

Saturday's temperatures were ideal, ranging from 11-16 C, with a gentle breeze behind the runners, who took a course from the Xiamen International Conference and Exhibition Center at 8 am.

Ethiopia's Ashu Kasim clinched the women's title in 2:23:09. The top Chinese runner, Jin Lingling, finished sixth in the women's race in 2:38:04. First held in 2003 and sanctioned in 2007 as a Gold Label Road Race by the International Association of Athletics Federations, the 2012 Xiamen International Marathon marks the 10th anniversary of the event.

"In the past 10 years, the annual competition has encouraged people's enthusiasm in sports as more and more runners join the run," Xiamen Mayor Liu Keqing said.

China Daily

(China Daily 01/08/2012 page7)